Differences in human skin volatiles between populations with high and low attraction to mosquitoes

作者：Zhihua Fan, Teng Zhao, Zhenyu Gu, Heting Gao, X. H. Zhou, Haotian Yu, Dan Xing, Hui Wang, Chun-Xiao Li · 发表于：Parasites & Vectors · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s13071-025-06738-7 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Insect Pest Control Strategies、Mosquito-borne diseases and control、Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

BACKGROUND: The attractiveness of mosquitoes to humans varies among individuals, with human volatile organic compounds (VOCs) playing a pivotal role in the mosquitoes' host-seeking behavior. Differences between human volatiles detected by GC-MS can effectively modulate mosquito host selection. METHODS: Participants were enrolled and then assessed for mosquito attraction via an olfactometer. Their skin volatiles were collected with a stir bar as the sorptive extraction and were analyzed with high-resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SBSE-HRGC-MS). These data were then integrated with principal component analysis (PCA), volcano plot analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to identify differential compounds between high and low mosquito attraction groups. Odorants with repellent properties were screened and evaluated using behavioral bioassays to assess their impact on the attractiveness of Aedes aegypti. RESULTS: From the 30 volunteers, 24 participants (12/12 with high/low attractiveness to mosquitoes) were enrolled. In the group with high mosquito attraction, human skin compounds such as N,N-dibutyl formamide (10.8%), decanoic acid (9.2%), and decanal (5.9%) were detected with high components. Conversely, in the low mosquito attraction group, relatively high levels of indole (0.9%), fury hydroxymethyl ketone (2.2%), and 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopentenone (0.8%) were observed. The results of two pathway analyses indicated that most of the...